Means for fixing bolts, screws, or similar articles in soft substances, such as wood.



N .;7sp,5's5. PATENTBD JUNE-9, 1903.

J. V. E. THIOLLI ER. MEANS FOR FIXING BOLTS, SCREWS, OR SIMILAR ARTICLESIN SOP-T SUBSTANCES, SUCH AS WOCD.

APPLICATION rum) AUG, 21, 1901.

N0 MODEL.

THE mms PETtHs co moraumou wl snma'rcn. u. c,

UNITED STATES Patented June 9, 1903.

"PATENT OFFICE.

JEAN VINCENT EMMANUEL THIO LLIER, OE. PARIS, FRANCE.

MEANS FOR FlXlNG BGLTS, SCREWS, R SIMILAR ARTlCLES lN SOFT SUBSTANCES,SUCH AS WOOD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 730,585, dated June 9,1903.

Application filed August 21, 1901. Serial No. 72,766. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LJ AN Vnvonnr EMMAN- UEL THIOLLIER, a citizenof theFrench Re public,-residing at 58 Rue de Lourmel, Paris,

in the Republic of France, have invented av new and useful Improved.Means for Fixing Bolts, Screws, or Similar Articlesin Soft Substances,such as Wood, of which the follow ing is a specification.

The present invention relates .to a method fixing of the chairs onwooden sleepers by the help of screws or bolts or cramp-irons driveninto these sleepers is subject to disadvantages well understood. Thewood, split by the forcible insertion of the bolts, gives acomparatively feeble hold for the screws,-and this hold is furtherweakened in a little time, owing to the shakings and shocks undergone bythe chair and the'action of the wet which rots the wood. Under theseconditions the chair is no longer of any use, and it has to be raisedand secured in another place alongside. Attempts have been made tolessen this evil by replacing old wood by new woodthat is to say-,byforcing into the hole in the sleeper previously cleaned and enlarged ahard wooden bush of which the inside diameter is that of the originalhole and which is intended toreccive the bolt or screw; but this means,though costly, is only a makeshift and lasts but a limited time.

My system consists in placing between the bolts and the sides of thehole in the piece of wood with which it is to be engaged a metalprotection consisting of a band or rod'of metal wound into a coil. Thechair bolt or screw is thus enveloped throughout its length, or almostso, by the aforesaid coil. Under these conditions it is no longer thebolt or screw which is in contact-with the wood, but the coil of metal,whose hold'on the wood is determined by the impulse to expand, which itreceives from the inserted screw or bolt.-

Figure l of the accompanying drawings shows one embodiment of myinvention partly in elevation and partly in section. Fig. 2 is asectional elevation of anotherembodiment of the invention wherein theelastic coil is provided with an internal or female fine groove adaptedto receive the male thread of a bolt or screw.

' A is a chair-bolt engaging with a piece of wood by. the aid of thecoil B. To fix a screw in this manner, the voperator commences by boringa hole in the piece of wood, which hole is then tapped with a thread inwhich engage the spirals of the coil B. This coilis now placed inposition, and the screw A is made to engage with it, the thread a ofsaid screw engaging in the space between the coils of the spiral, asshown by Fig. 1, ors aid threads of the screw may engage with a finegroove which is provided in the coils of the spiral, as shown by Fig. 2,said groove being especially provided in the coil B for the reception ofthe threads on the bolt.

In the manufacture of my improved boltholding coil 13, I employ a stripof metal which is of triangular form in cross-section, as shown by thedrawings, and this coil is bent by any suitable means into a helix ofuniform diameter throughout its length, the members of the metallicstrip being arranged so as to bring their edges close together and tothereby present their flat surfaces inside of the elastic coil in amanner to allow the internal or female groove 0 to be formed on theinterior of said'coil. I This interualgroovcor female thread 0 of thecoil is adapted to have the male threads on the bolt engage therewithwhen said bolt is screwed into the coil, as

shown by Fig. 2. The threaded bolt is of such size that it will forcethe coil and thereby expand the latter within the work, whereby thecoarse male threads of the coilwill be embedded firmly into the wood, soas to effectually prevent any displacement of the coil or of the boltwhich is in engagement therewith. The internal groove of the coil 13 maybe said to form a hoe or internal thread, the size of such fine threadbeing considerably smaller than the coarse external or male threads ofthe bolt. The coil is made to expand by the insertion of the bolt orscrew, so that its members will be pressed firmly against the wood. Itis to be understood that the coil is made with a pitch corresponding tothat of the thread on the screw or bolt. 7 By this construction theforce that the screw A receives is transmitted to the piece of woodelastically, uniformly, and over a considerable surface, which preventsall possibility of splitting or tearing the coil and the bolt away fromthe wood.

With a screw or bolt which is engaged directly with the wood contactbetween the bolt and the embedding material is very imperfect by reasonof the tearing of the fibers of the wood and the roughness of the wallof the hole which is bored therein by an anger. In this case the shocksand vibrations received by the chair-bolt are entirely and rigidlytransmitted by it to the wood, and this rapidly breaks up the latter. Onthe contrary, the use of my improvements allows the shock received bythe chair-bolt to be transmitted to an elastic body-i. 6., the coil.This coil absorbs the shock and vibration partially and the strain tendsto increase the diameter of the coil which holds itself forcibly to thewood, transmitting to the latter the remainder of the shock andvibration and also spreading it over a'considerable surface. Under theseconditions the wood cannot become damaged or torn and the operator canremove and replace the bolt or screw an indefinite number of timeswithout tearing out the wood, which with the ordinary means of engagingthe bolt can only take place a very few times.

It is evident that a bolt which is threaded for only a part of itslength may be employed.

I have taken an example of the system its application to chair-bolts;but it is to be understood that the improvements are applicable to allforms of cramps, bolts, screws, and similar devices which are requiredto engage with a soft substance, said device constituting a screw in thegeneral sense of the word.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

.1. In a device of the class described, an expansible elastic coilprovided with a coarse I male thread adapted to be embedded in a woodenor other soft body, combined with a bolt screwed into said coil toexpand the latter and displacing the male threads thereof to compressthe fibers of a softmaterial in which they are embedded; the normalinternal diameter of the elastic coil at its bolt-engaging portionsbeing less than the diameter of the bolt which is screwed therein at itsengaging portions.

2. In a device of the class described, an expansible and elastic coilhaving a female thread and a coarse male thread, the latter adapted tobe embedded in wood or other soft material, and a threaded shank havingits male threads engaging with the female threads of the coil anddisplacing the convolutions of the latter by expanding the same andforcing its male threads to compress the fibers of the soft material inwhich they are embedded, the normal internal diameter of the coil at itsshank-engaging portions being of less diameter than the-diameter of theshank at the coil-engaging portions thereof.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with amale-threaded bolt or shank, of an elastic enveloping coil expanded byengagement with said bolt or shank, the members of said coil forming acoarse male thread which are forcibly displaced by the action of thebolt and are adapted to compress the fibers of a surrounding body ofwood or other material, the normal internal diameter of the coil at itsshank-engaging portions being of less diameter than the bolt at thecoil-engaging portions thereof.

at. In a device of the class described, an elastic coil formed by across-sectionally triangular strip which is bent into a helix of uniformdiameter, the members or convolutions of said strip having their edgesclosely arranged and provided with an internallythreaded groove, theexternal faces of said members or'convolutions presenting acoarse malethread.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JEAN VINCENT EMMANUEL 'llIlOLLlER.

\Vitnesses:

GUSTAVE DUMONT, EDWARD P. MAOLEAN.

